Hello Reader,
Got Free Fall?
Why an interlude? Why, when “everybody knows” that blogs are “supposed to” be on a narrow topic-niche.
Bloggers are “supposed to” attract lots of readers by always having an ongoing familiar focus. So why? Easy: because I did college drama, and movement studies with theatre majors, and then after graduation I did rhythmic gymnastics, (with parents and coaches, not to compete) and all these activities were like figure skating: Judged not on a narrow focus, but on variety, such as space used, levels, and so forth.
Variety is the spice of life.
Hence an interlude.
Free Fall writing, at the City of Calgary’s C-Space every Friday, is where we all have the same prompt, and then we write like mad, until the timer rings, without no editing, no apologizing.
On a recent April morning I did fiction, nonfiction, and a prose-poem that people said was beautiful.
Sing it on the way to a funny forum: “Greece is for next week, Free Fall today.”
April 27
prompt- “I’m never late”
Darcy was a child of privilege. “I’m never late” he remarked. “It’s a corrupt world, God knows, but back in Hamburg we all knew that wars were won on the playing field and in the halls. No one was supposed to be late.”
Jung looked at him bleary eyed. His alarm watch must have rang, but he was just too tired to hear it.
Darcy continued, “Although we had servants at home, we all took turns in cleaning up, and making breakfast, and here—have some of my star pan cakes.” Darcy had a tray with not only pancakes but some prime great-juice and a carafe big and a carafe small. Tea and milk.
A shapeless bundle of cloth was in the corner. Darcy cocked an eyebrow that way “Sue? She up?”
“No. She crept in to keep an eye on me. I’m sure she’s heard of men creeping out in the dead of night. Just wanted to be sure.”
Darcy moved around. “Yes, that’s her. You can see her head from here.”
Jung moved to see and commented “Our little angel.” They sat camping style and enjoyed their food.
“Next time,” Jung said, “we involve Sue in making breakfast.”
Said Darcy, “Elevenses”
“Eh?”
“Elevenses. What you soldiers call mid-morning tea break. She can help prepare it, and bring it around to everybody. Get to know them.”
Jung nodded.
Prompt- butterfly
I have butterflies firmly categorized as a chick thing. This ever since I took a semester of "Drama for adults dealing with children." For our final movement study, every group or person, except for me, surprised us by including butterflies. So there you are. A chick thing. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that I think I was the only male in the class. That was OK, some of my best friends were people who deal with children.
It was all so long ago. I’m still chuckling over taking a night school drama class. Some of us were lounging in the dairy bar when a lady asked if we knew that our classmate was a radio announcer. Of course. “Well I didn’t, I was casually listening to the radio when suddenly I heard that laugh!” I think of that moment, sometimes, when I listen to CKUA which is were she ended up, fittingly. Young rock stations are best left for our younger years.
That was the class where I noted someone’s pin (badge) on the first day and said, “Oh, a Doctor Who fan” and we remained friends for years afterwards. She found the class useful for her live action role playing. I may have been the only male in that class too, but I forget. Strange. We think of space fans and nerds as being anti-girl, and keeping them out of our chess club, but I have never minded being around women. In fact, when I go to Japanese fantasy conventions half the people are women. Maybe not for video gaming, but for comics and anime, yes, gender equality.
I’m still laughing at the boy dressed as Sailor Moon, or one of her friends. A mighty cheer rang to the rafters, in female voices, when he said his mother helped him with his costume. That for a lecture on Yaoi, the male on male relationship comics. The professor told is it was nice to not have female competition in your love story.
Prompt- why them?
Why them, why?
Why go after, with hating eyes and clawing fingers, those who love those we don’t?
Folks of lame limbs, the halt and the blind and distant minds, they love in ways that we can only dimly understand, why them?
People of distant caravans once out of Egypt, why not let them go their own way? If they don’t love us, isn’t that punishment enough?
Add them all up, and in one place and time they tipped the scales at six million souls.
Why them? Do they not love football, mom’s apple pie, and ships sailing the waves? Do they not love laughter too?
Add them up, at a dark place and time, and there’s another six million souls.
Sean Crawford
May,
Calgary,
2018
Footnotes:
~The Who fan was Shannon, the professor was from UBC on the coast, the DJ was Allison Brock.
~The holocaust (whole burning) was in the news that Friday. Lest we forget, the victims were twelve million in all, including six million Jews.
For comparison: A few years ago Calgary passed the one million mark, during the 1988 Olympics we were at eight hundred thousand and something.
~After the great fire levelled the downtown, and City Hall conducted business in a tent, future buildings were constructed of locally quarried sandstone. One of the old four storey sandstone schools is recently converted into "C-Space" where all sorts of creative outfits lease space from the City of Calgary.
For example: Quest Children's Theatre is on the third floor, there is a stage going in on the ground floor, and at the other end of that floor the tiny coffee shop is now up and running.
Next to the three former classrooms for my Alexandra Writers Centre Society is the RGO Treehouse, an end room with three plate glass walls, for lectures, meetings and parties.
On our other side is a textile club that makes clothing, across the hall is Alberta Publishers.
Often the walls and halls are used for temporary art showing. You can buy art and jewelry in two stores on the second level.
Note: That's the building I took my clients to see when it was still half renovated with cool debris. They liked that experience.
Another Note: In case you phone for a bus route, as of last week, Calgary transit is still learning about us.
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